"It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" is an R&B song written by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

husband-and-wife songwriting team

Freddie Perren Frederick James Perren (May 15, 1943 – December 16, 2004) was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor. He co-wrote and co-produced songs including "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gay ...

and Christine Yarian for the 1975 film ''

Cooley High ''Cooley High'' is a 1975 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film that follows the narrative of high school seniors and best friends, Leroy "Preach" Jackson ( Glynn Turman) and Richard "Cochise" Morris (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs). Written by Eric ...

''. In the film, the song is performed by Motown artist

G.C. Cameron George Curtis Cameron is an American soul and R&B singer who is currently married to singer Linda Dixon Cameron a.k.a. “Lady L.”. Perhaps best known as the lead singer of The Spinners on their 1970 hit " It's a Shame" and for his 1975 hi ...

, whose rendition peaked at number 38 on the ''Billboard''

R&B singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart that same year. Perren also composed the instrumental score for ''Cooley High'', and the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" features two of his score compositions from the film.

Boyz II Men cover

The composition was recorded in an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

rendition by

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

Motown group

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

16 years later. Released as a single, Boyz II Men's recording of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number one on the

Hot R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart in December 1991. The track was included on Boyz II Men's first album, ''

Cooleyhighharmony ''Cooleyhighharmony'' is the debut studio album by American R&B group Boyz II Men. It was first released in the United States by Motown Records on April 30, 1991. The album was mainly written by Boyz II Men members Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris an ...

'', its name a reference to the film from which the song originated. The music video for the song featured archive footage of

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

and Gilda Radner, who'd all passed away one to two years before. The song was used in the 1992 action film ''

Lethal Weapon 3 ''Lethal Weapon 3'' is a 1992 American buddy cop action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen. The sequel to '' Lethal Weapon 2'' (1989), it is the third installment in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film ser ...

'', in the funeral scene for Daryl, a 15-year-old gangbanger shot down by Murtaugh.

Track listings

US cassette single *A It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (LP Version) * Album Snippets *B1 Under Pressure *B2 Please Don't Go *B3 Lonely Heart *B4 Uhh Ahh *B5 It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday Europe Maxi-CD # It's Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (Radio Version) 3:06 # It's Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (A capella Version) 3:49 # Album Snippets *3a Under Pressure 0:48 *3b Please Don't Go 1:00 *3c Lonely Heart 1:00 *3d Uhh Ahh 1:03

Other versions

The Flex covered "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" for the ''House Party 2'' soundtrack album, released in October 1991. A Cantonese version of this "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" was covered by

Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Dubbed the " God of Songs", he is regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong pop music. Cheung is known for his technically skilled vocals, lengthy tours, and ...

. The song is titled "偷閒加油站" in the 1992 album 真情流露.

Charts and certifications

G.C. Cameron version

Boyz II Men version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday 1975 singles 1991 singles Motown singles A cappella songs Boyz II Men songs Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Freddie Perren Songs written for films Song recordings produced by Freddie Perren 1975 songs Songs about nostalgia Songs about parting Cultural depictions of Sammy Davis Jr.